Diving Mexico Recommendations

[NTJB]

contact matt at tank ha in playa del carmen. he can help you arrange any cenote diving on the main land. tell him rick and melissa from canada sent you !! the cenotes dives are south of playa
Cenote Cavern Diving – Tank-Ha Dive Center, Playa del Carmen

plenty of dive options on coz. you will not be bored.

always a good idea to arrange your dives in advance. especially if going during peak season. when you are only there for a week you don't want any hassles when you arrive.

i would stay in town or walking distance to town if i was there for a week. lots of food choices. plenty of dive ops to choose from. however, if you want to be on the beach you will need to stay south of town. the all inclusives down there are a much shorter boat ride to the southern sites.

Thanks and will do! We're not big beach people so it sounds like near town will be the way.

 

[horn34]

CenoteXperience is another highly recommended op in Playa del Carmen that will set up some cenote dives for you.

CenoteXperience - Cavern, Cave and Ocean Diving in Playa del Carmen Yucatan Mexico - Home

I would stick with diving in Coz and some cenotes; trying to dive Isla Mujeres from a base in Coz is a PITA and you're really not missing anything special there.

Coz has plenty of different dive spots that range from crazy to safe for all ages/experience levels.

 

[SandyRobinson]

...
I changed my mind and would like to get a couple dives in the Cenotes (though it may just be me), is this something that can be arranged with a dive op in Coz including transport etc? I assume these are all on the mainland as opposed to on the islands.
--Is it possible to dive Isla Mujeres dive sites from Coz? I would love to explore different dives sites but would prefer not to have to change accommodations, unless you guys think it's worth a split? We are looking at 7 full days of diving (with one day on arrival and 2 days at the end with no diving before flights). Are there enough dive sites and variety around Coz not to get bored of the diving?

I would recommend ProTec Tulum or ProTec Playa. I have used ProTec Tulum since 2011, and they have been great. But most of those shops are pretty good. And yes, all on the mainland. Some cenotes on Coz but for your purposes, you will want the mainland - more decorations and longer dives in the cavern zone.

If you dive the cenotes on your last diving day, you could spend a few days in Tulum or Playa and enjoy some different sites on the mainland.

 

[Ontwreckdiver]

i have been diving with Nicolas & Martin from CenoteXperience for over 9 years. They are great guys and excellent dive guides. They will look after all your diving needs (cenote, ocean and Cozumel). CenoteXperience - Cavern, Cave and Ocean Diving in Playa del Carmen Yucatan Mexico - Home

 

[ibj40]

Dive Aventuras in Puerto Aventuras.
Morning and afternoon dives if you would like. Cenote diving, which everyone should try. Close to several "adventure" parks. Tulum ruins.
Fly into Cancun and they can arrange transportation to and from the airport.

Ditto on PA!

We tried ocean diving from PDC, but with no piers or docks, getting in and out of the boats is a PITA.

Contact Dive Aventuras and they can set it all up. When we decided that Cozumel wasn't for us anymore, PA was a natural replacement. The further South you are, the better the mainland reefs get.

PM me if you need anything specific.

 

[drrich2]

Tres Pelicanos & Casa Mexicana, Cozumel Sept. 2018 Report - Tres Pelicanos/Casa Mexican Trip Report Sept. 2018
My Research Notes from Planning Cozumel Trip - My Research Notes from Planning Cozumel Trip

I tried to pull together and share what I could find on planning a Cozumel trip, and matters of interest while doing so. Hope the linked info. helps.

 

[NTJB]

Thanks everyone, I'm still digesting all the info.

Does anyone have any thoughts about staying on Coz vs Playa Del Carmen? It seems the dive ops in Playa would be able to dive most of the Coz sites anyway, with the added bonus of being closer to the Cenotes? Any reason to stay on Coz over Playa for a ~10 day trip?

 

[SandyRobinson]

Thanks everyone, I'm still digesting all the info.

Does anyone have any thoughts about staying on Coz vs Playa Del Carmen? It seems the dive ops in Playa would be able to dive most of the Coz sites anyway, with the added bonus of being closer to the Cenotes? Any reason to stay on Coz over Playa for a ~10 day trip?

The ferry from Playa to Coz is about 45 minutes. I am sure the dive boats could make it a little faster than the ferry but not as fast as the Coz dive operators. I would think the Playa Operators would have to charge a higher rate because of extra fuel and time but that is speculation on my part.

 

[mcohen1021]

Stay away from Cancun. Seriously.

Agree. Everything about Cancun sucks. The diving, the beach, cartel violence, the crowds...

 

[Chavodel8en]

Here's the thing, Coz has the best diving, but non-divers could get bored with it. Im the kind of person who doesnt like being "stuck" in an island, your friends may be the same way. Coz is a pleasant place, but besides diving, and going to the windward side for the (just OK) beaches, there's not alot going on, IMO.

For non-divers, the mainland offers alot of fun stuff, esp. as you (your group too?) havent been to Mexico before. Visit the ruins at Chichen Itza, Tulum & Coba, my wife loved just swimming in the cenotes (you dont need to dive them), excellent beaches, etc. When I travel, I like to explore (hence my bias against small islands), and the Maya Riviera is a great place to explore .

Alot of folks are criticizing Cancun, but its a convenient base of operations to do many of these activities (and lol at "cartel violence" in Cancun -- stay in the hotel zone you'll be fine, although the artesenia market at the edge of downtown is a great place). Cancun & Isla Mujeres dive sites are the same. Isla Mujeres is very small, if I was a non-diver, I might get bored within the week. Some of the dives from Cancun/ Isla Mujeres are pretty damn good.

One consideration is for the group, or just you, to split the trip between the mainland & Coz - its not hard to do. Like you, I am often the only diver in my traveling group. You're getting the diver's perspective from folks here. You may want to consider your non-diving friends as well.

In any case, im sure you all will alot of fun. The Yucatan is a great place to visit.